Credit card skimmers can be placed on the outside of gas pumps. Police said upgrades to gas pumps are the only thing that can truly prevent skimming but the improvements are expensive for gas station owners.

Photo: San Antonio Police Department

While driving around San Antonio Lt. Marcus Booth keeps an eye out for gas stations with pumps that have been upgraded to protect customers against credit card skimmers. Sometimes, he'll even take pictures.

They're signs of progress -- progress that Booth, who is in charge of financial crimes for the San Antonio Police Department, thinks is sorely needed.

That's because San Antonio police saw an almost threefold increase in gas pump credit card skimmers in 2018.

While most businesses and banks have upgraded their credit card terminals with chip-enabled technology meant to stymie would-be thieves of credit card information, many gas stations in San Antonio lag behind.

It was just a few years ago that gas pump skimmers weren't all that common in San Antonio. But in 2017, police found 81 of them. In 2018, the number of credit card skimmers found in the Alamo City was 235, with almost all of those found on gas pumps.

Where skimmers were found in 2018

This map shows where skimmers were found in San Antonio in 2018. Gas stations are popular targets. The larger the bubble, the higher the number of skimmers uncovered. Click any bubble for more information.

Source: San Antonio Police Department

Credit: Fares Sabawi & Luke Whyte | San Antonio Express-News

Skimmers are devices that attach to a gas pump's or ATM's card-reading fixture. They pull customers' credit card information, which thieves can usually retrieve via a bluetooth connection and use to commit fraud.

They are installed within the pay terminal so most are not visible to customers.

And though they can be installed on ATMs and other payment systems, these days the vast majority are found on gas pumps.

"Pumps are getting harder (to skim), but there's still a base of unsafe pumps, if you will," Booth said. "If it's easy to go there and install a skimmer, then that's where they're going to do it."

If a customer's data is stolen through the use of the skimmer and used fraudulently, the liability for those payments currently falls to the bank that issued the card. The liability was slated to switch to the gas station operators in 2017 but that date was pushed back to October 2020, essentially also pushing back the deadline to install the updated chip-card readers.

The updated card readers are much harder to skim data from and the updated gas pumps are much harder to break into, Booth said.

"That's the only thing that is really going to change things," Booth said.

But the cost of upgrading can be prohibitive for some gas station operators, said Paul Hardin, the president of the Texas Food and Fuel Association.

"A new pump with new technology could cost as much as a car," Hardin said. "The other issue is that a lot of folks out there feel (chip-card readers) isn't the end-all solution to this problem. Crooks can still find a way around it."

Even though the fraud liability doesn't yet fall on them, Hardin said gas station operators are extremely concerned about skimming. In a recent survey, members of the association listed it as their most important issue.

"I wouldn't say that just because you haven't invested the money in new pumps that you don't care," Hardin said. "If you're diligent as an owner and inspect the pumps several times a day, even with older model pumps, you can keep yourself and your customers protected by being vigilant."

Addresses where skimmers were found 3 or more times

This map shows addresses where skimmers were uncovered three or more times in 2018. The larger the bubble, the more times the address was targeted. Click any bubble for more information.

Source: San Antonio Police Department

Credit: Fares Sabawi & Luke Whyte | San Antonio Express-News

San Antonio police, as well as the trade association, have helped educated gas station owners about best practices. That includes checking pumps daily, reviewing video overnight and making sure the anti-tampering seals are still intact.

Some have even installed padlocks on pumps or drilled the housing for the pumps into the ground, making them harder to break open, Booth said.

Even with these efforts, it can still be difficult to identify and arrest skimming suspects, Booth said.

"They're tough cases to make," Booth said. "Catching them (installing skimmers) in real-time is hard, and video is either nonexistent or lousy."

Trends in where skimmers were uncovered in 2018

This map shows the trends in where skimmers were found in San Antonio in 2018. Northwestern portions of the city appear to be the more vulnerable targets.

Source: What is the source?

Credit: Fares Sabawi & Luke Whyte | San Antonio Express-News

Police rely primarily on forensic evidence to make arrests, Booth said. They work in conjunction with the U.S. Secret Service to catch suspects.

Fares Sabawi covers crime in San Antonio and Bexar County. He previously worked at the Corpus Christi Caller-Times, where he covered crime and focused on the synthetic marijuana epidemic plaguing South Texas. Although he works in San Antonio, he is an unashamed fan of the Los Angeles Lakers.